New York City's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.1 percent in February, up from 6.9 percent in January. State officials say that's the biggest one-month jump on record.
The state labor department reported the new rate Thursday, with state unemployment increasing to 7.8 percent from 7 percent a month earlier.
The city's unemployment rate is nearly double the number from a year earlier. In February, 2008, the jobless rate stood at 4.4. percent.
The city lost 3,600 jobs in February, a month when hiring in tourism-related businesses usually leads to an increase in overall employment. In the previous 10 years, it had added an average of 18,900 jobs in February, the New York Times reported.
State officials say that outside New York City, the region's unemployment rate stands at a 25-year high of 7.6 percent, up from 4.8 percent last year.
Among individual counties, Lewis County again had the highest rate at 12.8 percent. The lowest rate -- 5.9 percent -- was in Tompkins County, up from 5.6 percent the previous month.
